Deluxe Butternut Macaroni ‘n’ Tease

I’m over winter, but winter definitely isn’t over. Although I really can’t complain about the balmy temps here in Denmark, it’s dark and damp and I would probably pay a lot of money to see the sun right about now. And my heart does go out to all my family and friends freezing their tooshies off stateside. Yikes! I’m here to help. Or at least, this recipe is here to help.

Like most kids, I ate a lot of macaroni and cheese growing up, the kind that came in a blue box with the magical, neon orange flavour powder. Sometimes my mom would toss in a few slices of bell peppers and cocktail wieners and my brother and I felt like kings. Kings! Those were the days. In fear of falling short of that level of awesomeness, I haven’t actually attempted to make mac ‘n’ cheese on my own past the days of high school. Until recently this winter, a gnawing hunger for warmth, comfort and nostalgia took hold and just wouldn’t let go. If you’re anything like me (a human) you’ll love tucking into this tasty meal every week until spring hits.

So, what makes this mac ‘n’ tease a tease? It’s vegan! Not one speck of cheese or milk or butter or cream in sight. Nope. Instead the delectable sauce is a winning combination of roasted butternut squash and garlic, creamy butter beans, and cheesy nutritional yeast. Although not exactly like the cheese sauce of yore, it is still completely smooth and creamy, rich, unctuous, and deeply satisfying when combined with fat noodles and the most amazing non-breadcrumb-topping made out of sunflower seeds. That’s right.

Nutritional Yeast: A Cheesy Tease
Although the name is slightly unappealing, nutritional yeast is a delicious and versatile seasoning to have in your pantry. Made from a single-celled organism called, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, the yeast is grown on cane or beet molasses, fermented, then deactivated with heat to stop the growing process. The yeast is sold both as flakes and powder (use half the amount of powder if a recipe calls for flakes). The natural colour of nutritional yeast is vibrantly golden. The flavour is often described as cheesy, which makes it a perfect substitute for dairy products in dressing and sauces. I sprinkle nutritional yeast on popcorn, salads, sandwiches, soups, blend a little into hummus and other savory dips. Because of its high nutritional content, many people treat nutritional yeast as a food supplement.

First and foremost, nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B-vitamins, and in many cases B-12 (though not all brands, read the label to make sure). Our bodies need B-vitamins to convert food into energy, keep stress at bay, alleviate insomnia, nervousness, fatigue, PMS, and mood swings (so, kind of important). Nutritional yeast also contains high amounts of protein with 4 grams per tablespoon, and contains 18 amino acids. It is a good source of dietary fiber, folic acid, selenium, and zinc. It is gluten-free and vegan.

In North America nutritional yeast is available at natural grocers and bulk food stores. In the UK, it is sold under the brand name Engevita; in Australia, it is called savory yeast flakes; in Scandinavia it is sold as yeast flakes or B-yeast / B-gær (due to the high B-vitamin content). Among cool kids, nutritional yeast is referred to simply as nooch. Drop that bomb at your next vegan potluck for major street cred. It should also be noted that nutritional yeast is not the same as brewer’s yeast, dry active yeast or baking yeast. Do not use these as a substitute for nutritional yeast in any recipe. It will be gross.

If you suffer from Candida or suspect that you have yeast issues, not to worry. Nutritional yeast is totally safe and will not infect you or exacerbate yeast conditions. It should be avoided however by those that are allergic to yeast and yeast products, like bread products, grapes and beer.

The shape of pasta you use for this really matters. I chose a large, deeply ridged, tubular pasta that said “macaroni” on the package, but it’s much closer to rigatoni if you ask me. Rigatoni, penne, classic macaroni, ziti, or even conchiglie (shells) would work here, as the ultimate goal is to get as much sauce in and around each noodle as humanly possible. In fact, I guarantee when you make the sauce you’ll be questioning my recipe amounts – there is a lot of it, people. But once you pour it over the cooked pasta and start stirring, it magically disappears into the nooks and crannies only reappear later in your mouth, like a rich and savoury flavour explosion from heaven. Tubes work best for obvious reasons, but I’ll let you decide how you want your sauce delivered. And I hope that it goes without saying that you should make an effort to find the most high-vibe pasta you can. There are so many on the market these days, even at regular grocery stores, so no excuses! No white pasta!

And yes, there is topping. In keeping with the gluten-free theme I went with a Sunflower Crumble Topping that I am quite chuffed about. It’s savoury, crunchy, and totally takes this meal to the next level – better than breadcrumbs I tell ya! And it’s delicious not only on mac ‘n’ cheese, but garnishing avocado toast, grain salads, and roast veggies. You may have a little extra of the topping, but my casserole dish is relatively deep and narrow compared to most, and I wanted to make sure you had plenty to cover the top of yours. If you want to save time and skip steps, the pasta and sauce alone is super delish all on its own. But. The topping.

After cooking up this meal, I looked around the kitchen at the dish carnage and shrugged my shoulders. You know why? So worth it. Yes, you will use pretty much every cooking element and piece of equipment you own, but make it a Sunday project, invite some buds over and have them clean up. You did cook them a totally awesome meal after all, it’s the least they can do.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Peel and cube butternut squash, peel the garlic cloves, and place everything on a baking sheet with the coconut oil. Place in the oven to melt coconut oil, remove from oven and toss to coat, then set them back in the oven to cook, about 15-20 minutes. The butternut should be slightly blistered and tender.
2. While the squash is roasting, make the Sunflower Crumble Topping. In a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sunflower seeds, tossing often so that they do not burn, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the seeds to a large plate to cool. Place them in a food processor with the remaining topping ingredients and pulse several times to combine and chop up some of the seeds. Season to taste. Set aside.
3. Transfer the roasted squash and garlic it to a blender with all ingredients except for the milk. With the motor running, add the milk until the desired consistency is reached: you are looking for a very thick, yet pourable sauce. Add milk until the blend is smooth, creamy and just the right consistency.
4. Set a pot of water on to boil with plenty of salt. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and return to the pot, drizzle with a little olive oil, toss to coat, and keep the lid on to retain the heat.
5. Pour sauce over the pasta in increments and keep stirring so that it folds into all of the nooks and crannies. You should be able to use up all of the sauce, but if you have any leftovers serve them with the finished dish or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
6. Turn down the oven temperature to 325°F/160°C. Transfer the pasta to a casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle the top generously with the Sunflower Crumble Topping. Bake until warmed through and golden on top, about 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve hot.

171 thoughts on “Deluxe Butternut Macaroni ‘n’ Tease”

Very tasty! I actually used a combo of Japanese sweet potato and carrots instead of squash, and got creative with my spice cupboard! Omitted the white beans, they don’t agree with me. Used my favorite corn and rice penne pasta, and threw some broccoli florets in with the pasta. Oh, and used pine-nuts instead of sun seeds in the topping because that’s what I had on hand! Used the same ratios and methods. Turned out great! I’ve been workin on my vegan mac for about 6 years, and following MNR for about 3 years. I LOVED this recipe as a base to riff on! The nut-seed based vegan macs don’t agree with my gut too well, but the veggie based mac n’ tease sauces are so good! I have ulcerative colitis, and manage it 100% with naturopathic nutrition and lifestyle. 🙂

This was pretty good. It didn’t taste cheesy to me or my family, but we’re not practicing vegans, so the taste of cheese isn’t a distant memory. I did throw in some roasted red pepper in with everything to blend and I think it improved the flavor of the sauce and took away some of the bitterness from the nutritional yeast.

Hi Sarah! I found out about your site through your recent podcast interview with Katie Horowitch, founder of WANT. I loved what you had to say and the interview prompted me to check out your recipes and stunning photography. The cold winter weather inspired me to start with Macaroni n’ tease. So delicious! It’s official – I’m a fan.

I live by all these recipes. I recently cut our gluten and refined sugars out of my diet and this blog has been my bible. I gotta say although I liked this casserole I think it calls for way too much nutritional yeast. Did anyone else have an adverse reaction to this? I almost felt like it was vitamin overload. Maybe it’s the brand I’m using but in other vegan Mac recipes I usually only use about 2 tablespoons. Just wondering other people’s thoughts on this. Anyhow I’ll make it with less next time. My favorite is the kale and white bean stew yummmm. Thanks for writing all of these fun yummy recipes.

This mac&’teas is AWESOME!!! I used some coconut milk and canellini beans plus some turmeric and…..OOOOO La LA!!! heaven!!!!!! I did put my truffle parmigiano regiano and skipped the topping 🙂 but people, Sarah encourage us to play with the food and make some adjustments! I was eating it straight from the pan , so it had never met the oven.
Anyways…FINGER LICKING GOODNESS!!PERIOD!

Hi Sarah, I’m about to start cooking this dish and I’m just wondering if it’s really necessary to peel and cube the butternut squash or if I could just roast it whole? Thought there might be a specific reason for roasting it in little cubes, but if not I’ll defo go for the easy way out 😀
Can’t wait to taste this recipe!
Regards from France.
Nevin

wow looks lovely. Wish I could take this dish from image and start eating.
Being a foodie always try something new. Yesterday I made cheeze macroni now i will try your butternut macroni. Hope It will be delicious as it seems.

As a long-time fan of My New Roots, I had high hopes for this supercharged, “elevated” take on our old friend, Mac-and-Cheese.

After 2 hours of prep/cooking time and $25 worth of ingredients, the end result was a sorry dish that tasted vaguely of cough syrup and broken promises. I don’t know if it’s possible for a casserole to look self-conscious, but I swear that mine did.

Early on, I had doubts about this recipe. But I soldiered on, desperately wanting to believe that it was possible for butternut squash, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar to come together in an improbably harmonious way. How was I to know that, when combined, these ingredients would form such an unholy alliance?

This dish has found its final resting place at the bottom of our compost bin, never to “tease” again. It was a dazzling dream, but a bitter reality. Proceed with caution, fellow readers.

Let me just say, I have made several recipes from this site and ALL of them have exceeded my expectations. This is no different. This Mac is delicious! I used 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk and smoked papirika (which I would recommend). I’m going for my second bowl right now!

Wow, Sarah, when my husband, the old “meat and potatoes die-hard’ took his first bite this afternoon, his eyebrows were raised. I know this was a definite winner. When we met, 35 years ago, he had many, many KR**T blue and yellow boxes in his pantry.
Needles to say he really liked it. And it hasn’t been easy to convert him to the WFPB way of eating. I’m going to try the “Good Gravy” for Thanksgiving on Thurs. Very anxious to see how he likes it. Thanks a million times over.

This looks phantastic – has anybody tried storage in the fridge (or a cool place) and reheating the next or over-next day? I live alone and am happy to eat this one two or three days in a row with a little green and leafy side salad, but want to make sure that it remains edible after storage and does not adopt a weird gooey texture.

Holy moly, Sarah, you really are a health food genius! Gahh! I love it.
Wow – long have I desired a recipe like this after I eliminated dairy from my diet. I will be this tasty looking dish this weekend!!

Made this four times already, one of our faves! Absolutely enjoy all your recipes! Also love your burgers! And we only eat your bread in our house! 🙂 Sending much love from South Africa! Thanks for changing the way we eat!

Hi! Do you have any tips on reheating this? Is it just as good? I want to make it for a Christmas eve party but am working on the day, so will have to make it ahead. Sarah never answers any comments or questions so I’ll try asking you, since you’ve made it a few times! Thanks!

Thank you so much for this recipe Sarah! It was absolutely delicious. I do eat raw, grass fed, fermented dairy like kefir and yogurt and cheese, so this actually didn’t taste at all like cheese to me, but I still love it, especially because I love mac and cheese, but I don’t believe it’s healthy to eat cooked dairy(especially that much!).

Made this with a girlfriend tonight and HOLY YUM…So impressed, really! We added our own flare to it. Added fried onions to the sunflower seed crumble and added some dashes of curry powder to the sauce and crumble. We also used great northern beans instead of butter beans. Perfect HCLF meal…Thank you for sharing the cruelty free lifestyle. So much love!

I’m such a fan of your blog and recipes Sarah and regularly forward them to people but I thought this was too sweet for me – a bit sickly? I used almond milk which was sweetened which might have been the problem??

Oh, my! I finally tried making this after havinga really awful day. Can’t help but smile now. Thank you for making awesome food and sharing it with us! <3 I still had a lot of topping and sauce left, so i'll be making some more later. 🙂

I made this tonight and it was DIVINE! The sauce is incredibly creamy and dreamy. I also added kale (just popped it in with the pasta for the final min or two of its boiling time) which worked a treat. It even got the seal of approval from my non-vegan flatmates!

hanks to “My New Roots” blog I have discovered a new vegetarian protein source – nutritional yeast flakes. It gives food a beautiful yellow color and tastes cheesy!!! I Made Sara Britton’s Deluxe Butternut Macaroni ‘N’ Tease yesterday.True to it’s name the dish does not include cheese. Instead the sauce consists of butternut squash and nutritional yeast flakes. My son absolutely loved it even after i told him about the tease part:). I’m participating in a weight loss challenge at my gym. So, to cut down the calories i roasted some cauliflower instead of pasta for my dinner. It was amazing!
Take a look at the beautiful pictures of both pasta and cauliflower versionshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-Chicks/177365772461993?ref=bookmarks

This recipe is perfect. My usband and I have been vegetarian for years and have recently made the transition to vegan and gluten free. What held us back for so long (embarrassed to say bc of the dairy cow cruelty) was our love of cheese. This recipe is BETTER than traditional Mac n cheese. Thank you so much for sharing and perpetuating a cruelty free lifestyle.

I made this last night and it was so awesome! We just had leftovers for dinner again tonight and the leftovers were even more delicious. I was wondering, is it possible to freeze any leftover sauce? Thanks soo much for this recipe. It was perfect timing for us as winter is staying around a little longer than any of are liking 🙂

I made this dish tonight and it was amazing.. However.. you have to have a pretty big blender or food processor to be able to process the squash, beans and milk all at one time. I have to do it in two steps..ending with my immersion blender.. None the less it was magnificent and so worth it.. Next time think I will use a tad more dijon mustard!

Loved this. Have not made a pasta dish in so long as it’s not a favorite, but made this for my bacon cheese loving boyfriend and myself, the vegetarian. We loved it. I couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed it! Thank you

Deeeelicious. I am a big mac cheese fan (embarrassed to say – love love love cheese) and this tasted super yummy. The only thing i would say is to make the sauce a bit runnier (I used soya and it dried up a lot, but was still yummy). I also added some cavolo nero as I love a bit of green and it felt a bit orange without it.

This was quite good. Creamy but not too rich and the topping was a perfect accompaniment. I didn’t have sunflower seeds on hand so I used hemp hearts which worked perfect (toasted). Served with steamed broccoli and oranges for dessert, it was a colorful and delicious way to start the week!

Hmm. Sounds amazing. Am thinking of swapping the rice milk for almond milk. I use almond milk it a lot for sauces but do wonder whether it’s ok to cook with? Have read that high heat can make the fats ‘unstable’. Can you give any advice? Many thanks xx

I’ve got this baby in the oven! I used cashews in lieu of butter beans and um I attacked my blender trying to get every last morsel. My husband is currently in the kitchen toiling at the same endeavour. SO DELICIOUS AND CREAMY AND CHEESY. I also stirred some fresh spinach into the mix before she went in the oven. Very excited! Thank you so much Sarah for your beautiful recipes made with whole, healthy ingredients! <3

Wow! Vegan Mac and Cheese. Sounds almost too good to be true, but since it’s coming from you I know it’ll be awesome. I have some Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash (considered an “ancestor” of the butternut squash) that need to be done up before they go bad, so I’ll try this recipe with one of them. Also, I’m having a non-GMO seed giveaway on my blog- http://www.becauseyum.com/winter-sowing-seed-giveaway/

Sarah B.
This is the first time I write a comment on one of your recipes, even though I’ve been crazy about all that you do for years now. I just made this last night. Girrrrl. I ate a good quarter of the sunflower seed topping before even putting it in the oven. The dish was tasty, and I’ll be adding it, to my “make-when-my-non-vegan-friends-are-over” list. You’re the bomb. Patiently waiting your cookbook.
Love & light & happy day.

Oh PS – I made your black bean chocolate cookies into brownies the other day. And as my 7 month-old is down for a nap, I am stuffing my face. Thank you for moments like these.

I made this for dinner last night–delicious! I ended up making WAY too much sauce though. Do you think the sauce is freezable? I don’t want it to go to waste but I’m also not sure I can use it again in the next few days.

Hey Sarah, I just moved to nowhere North Dakota and can’t get butter beans….when I looked for an alternative I found lima beans???? That didn’t jive for me exactly (can you imagine the color of the sauce! haha) I’ve got a bag of dried soy beans, would that do? Even garbonzos seem more apt to mimic lima beans if I cook them real nice and soft….I can get canned cannellini beans if that seems close? I’d love your advise as I’d hate to ruin this beautiful butternut sitting on my counter, plus you’re my favorite person on the internet.
Thanks!

I made this (well, the sauce – we’re not gluten free and I’m lazy, so I just used breadcrumbs for the topping) last night and everyone loved it! The only thing I’ll change next time I make it will be to toast the paprika a little before blending, I don’t like the way it tastes raw.

Wauw, that crumble is amazing! Did not make the pasta yet, only the crumble, but wauw. Loved it! And so did my man and daughter! Do you know how long the crumble will stay this awesome when I store it in the fridge?

Tried this recipe tonight. Delicious!!!!
Have to say; I did make a few adjustments… waaaaaaaay more Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and soya milk and it still didn’t become as velvet ribbon like as in the photos. The sauce didn’t want to become sauce in the blender, so had to move the whole kitten-caboodle into the food processor.
Flavour is amazing!
Must remember to make a half mix next time for the two of us in this household. There is plenty left to freeze, hopefully this is ok for this recipe.
You didn’t lie when you said uses every dish! thank goodness for the “She who cooks doesn’t do the dishes” rule in this house!
Thanks for the recipe, love this website!

Hi! This looks beyond amazing and consequently I have to make it. However, I went to the grocery stores today and couldn’t find butter beans. Instead I bought favs beans and am now wondering if these will work as a substitute? Thank you, xx

Looove it! I have such a similar recipe, except I use cashews instead of the beans. Need to try it with the beans though, must still be super creamy and probably not as heavy or fatty! Plus, I’m a huuuge bean fan! Genius.

Hi, I have no experience peeling a butternut squash…I think I have been intimidated by the size and sturdiness of it and wonder if there is a certain technique to getting the job done as easily as possible. Thanks for any help!

Peeling a squash can definitely be annoying, but I’ve come up with a few techniques that might help you!

Instead of using a vegetable peeler that would take aaages, I simply use a sharp knife and cut off the top and bottom to create flat surfaces. Then I cut the squash through the middle width-wise so it’s not as long, and use the knife to chop off the skin by the edges.

Another easy thing if you’ve got a particularly hard squash is to stuff it in the oven for a few minutes so it can soften, then it cuts up super easy! Just be careful and let it cool a bit before handling it.

I visited my naturopath yesterday and learned that I need to stay away from gluten and dairy. This morning, I check my favourite blog and here is some gluten-free, dairy-free comfort food. Going to make this and your life changing loaf of bread this weekend. You are such a ray of sunshine, Sarah! The absolute best. xo Jess (London, ON)

Hİ Sarah,
What a lovely recipe as always! There is no way to find nutritional yeast flakes here in Turkey where I live. What do you recommend as a subtitute ? As you wrote a bunch on this ingredient, I think it should be irreplaceable but I want to try the recipe anyway as I really love pasta and butternut combination:) Thanks!

this looks gorgeous!
won’t be at home this weekend but looking forward to try this recipe next week 😀
but I don’t like cutting butternut sqash so is it possible to just half it and put it in the oven like that for about 45 min? so that I just need to take a spoon to transfer the soft sqash to the blender? thank you!
I love what you do!

so, today is my birthday. yesterday I was thinking about what I wanted to make for my birthday dinner, and my soul wanted a giant pan of mac n’cheese. sad part: during the last year, I have been struggling with my health and I knew deep down that even if my soul wanted a gooey, cheesy lump o’dairy and sweet, white noodles, my body would be mad and kinda disappointed. happy part: guess what showed up in my Facebook feed this morning?? this glorious compromise–what I am accepting as a gift from the universe through your bright self. sometimes the universe is kinda cool and gives rad birthday presents. I’m going to have birthday mac n’tease tonight–thank you for sharing!

You really made justice to this heavy-impossible dish, I love this healthy interpretation and the crumble topping is genius! I don’t have butternut but I think sweet potatoes would make a nice replacement in the creamy sauce, can’t wait to try this! PS – your photos look gorgeous 🙂

Such a genius recipe!!! By nature, I have never been a fan of mac ‘n cheese, but this is so intriguing. I would love to try it. We’re both omnivore, I’m a healthy, clean eater, and my boyfriend is the Italian guy who can’t live without at least one meal including pasta. And he hates squash too! . I could try broccoli, do you think it’d work?
The photos are gorgeous too, of course 🙂
cheers

This looks scrum-diddly!
I am curious if you have ever run into the debate on whether nutritional yeast is a form of MSG due to the deactivated (denatured) glutamate. I really want someone to tell me it’s fine and go ahead and eat it cause I am lactose intolerant. But I hesitate every time I see it because you can’t unlearn something. If you think about it, it is a flavour enhancer and yeast extract is MSG. Wondering your thoughts. Thanks for your kick-ass recipes and constant inspiration.
A fellow Canadian from BC.

What about the natural occurring glutamate? A lot of healthy Japanese cooking is based on that: certain vegetables, meat and fish and especially dashi.
In doubt, yeast flakes free from MGM are available from Marigold – you might have to import from the UK.
Japanese cooking uses a lot of glutamate and I have to confess growing up in Germany it is a shame that my mom always used Maggi in everything (!) from soups to salad dressings which is full of MNG! I am off Maggi since years but was never really addicted and still developed quite a palate.

I also have never eaten macaroni and cheese that I remember, but have heard much about it and seen it many places and gather it’s practically a staple dish for Americans! 🙂
So I definitely want to give your scrumptious sounding recipe a go Sarah and am looking forward to my first taste of ‘mac & cheese’!! ♥

Sarah, so basically, I love you to the moon and back. Your children will grow up to be the healthiest and the kindest human beings ever, because of all the deliciousness you cook for them! I say: Let there be more Sarahs in this world!
H.

I’m probably the only child in the world who never cared for, dare I even go as far to say, despised mac and cheese! You couldn’t bribe me with any Kraft dinner that’s for sure! However, THIS mac and cheese looks amazing! I was just thinking earlier today that I need to get some more nutritional yeast- it really does add that “cheesy” element to so many dishes. So many people are coming out with cookbooks this year but Sarah, your’s is the one I’ve been look forward to grabbing for years now and I can’t wait for it’s release!! 🙂 xx

Oh my good gracious, woman, I need to make this ASAP! I’ve always made a butternut cheese sauce similar to this one – but that topping! Holy schnikes. I’m in love. Thank you so much for this gorgeousness!

This looks amazing! I’m making it tomorrow night for dinner yum – almost can’t sleep tonight I’m so excited! Just wondering, would you recommend soaking the sunflower seeds before toasting them? Love and thanks!

No, if you soak the sunflower seeds before you toast them they will be soggy. You can alternatively soak, dehydrate and toast, but since you’re cooking them, the first two steps are kind of pointless from a nutritional standpoint. Toasting also removes some of the phytic acid, like soaking does.